Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (May 7, 2016) – Quality pitching and defense kept Oklahoma Christian in the baseball game Saturday afternoon against Arkansas-Fort Smith, but the Eagles' offense lacked its usual punch and that cost them.
OC managed only six hits and stranded runners in scoring position in five different innings while losing 3-2 to the Lions in the regular-season finale at Dobson Field.
OC (28-20, 18-10 Heartland Conference) finished third in the league and will play for the first time in Heartland tournament on Thursday against second-place finisher Lubbock Christian (Texas).
Having lost their final two regular-season games to UAFS (24-21, 13-14), the Eagles – who entered the series at No. 8 in the South Central Region rankings – likely will need to win the conference tournament to qualify for the regional tournament the following week.
OC senior
Bradley Horn (5-4) and UAFS starter Hasten Freeman (4-4) both pitched well and had strong defense played behind them. Horn allowed only five hits in seven innings while striking out five, while Freeman pitched into the ninth inning, giving up just four hits with 10 strikeouts, including four in the fourth inning, when one of those batters reached on a wild pitch on a third strike.
Josh Vanderpool had two of the Lions' hits, and unfortunately for Horn and the Eagles, both were home runs. Vanderpool's two-run shot in the fourth put UAFS up 2-0. OC senior
Ben McKenzie hit a solo homer in the fifth to make it 2-1.
The Eagles almost tied it up that inning, as
Jared Sterling walked after McKenzie's homer and
Austin Peck singled with one out, sending Sterling to third.
Zac Cobble followed with a line shot that appeared headed for right field before UAFS second baseman Kendall Emerson speared the ball for the final out.
Vanderpool hit a solo homer in the seventh to stretch the UAFS lead to 3-1, but Horn finished out the inning and
Dylon Sturges pitched shutout baseball over the final two innings for OC.
In the eighth, Cobble and
Alex Polston drew one-out walks, but were stranded.
Kyle Lacy led off the ninth inning with a double to right field. He took third on a bloop single by McKenzie and scored on a sacrifice fly by Sterling.
With two outs, pinch-hitter
Jake Baxter reached on an infield single, putting runners on first and second, but Cobble lined out to shortstop to end the threat and the game. Reliever Zach Akins, who replaced Freeman after Lacy's double, picked up his first save of the season for UAFS.
